A gripper is disclosed for a draping frame having a gripper chassis and at least two opposing mutually movable gripper jaw elements for gripping a film element. The gripper jaw elements are provided on a gripper head part of the gripper. The gripper head part of the gripper is movably mounted, at least with one degree of freedom, relative to the gripper chassis.

A fluid container having a proximal end having an end wall, a distal end having an open-ended neck, and a sidewall extending between the proximal end and the distal end along a longitudinal axis is described. A localized crystallinity of a polymeric material of the fluid container of at least a first region of the fluid container is greater than a crystallinity of a polymeric material of the fluid container of at least a second region. Examples of fluid containers include medical fluid containers, such as medical bottles and syringes, including rolling diaphragm-type syringes, and commercial beverage containers Articles of manufacturer formed form a polymeric material and having regions with increased localized polymeric crystallinity are also described.

A method of creating a soft and lofty continuous fiber nonwoven web is provided. The method includes providing two molten polymer components having different melting temperatures to a spinneret defining a plurality of orifices, and flowing a fluid intermediate the spinneret and a moving porous member. The moving porous member is positioned below the spinneret. The method includes using the fluid to draw or push the two molten polymer components, in a direction that is toward the moving porous member, through at least some of the plurality of orifices to form a plurality of individual bi-component continuous fiber strands. The method includes depositing the continuous fiber strands on the moving porous member at a first location to create an intermediate continuous fiber nonwoven web, and removing and/or diverting some of the fluid proximate to the first location to maintain loft and softness in the deposited intermediate continuous fiber nonwoven web.

A method for producing a plastic tank includes preparing a tank wall as a hot extrudate. A reinforcing sheet is then attached to at least one region of the outer layer of the hot extrudate. After introducing the attached reinforcing sheet and the hot extrudate into a shaping tool, the shaping tool performs shaping of the hot extrudate and the attached reinforcing sheet to form the tank wall, while simultaneously enhancing the attachment of the reinforcing sheet to the tank wall.

Described are methods of two-dimensionally and three-dimensionally forming an article of wear using vacuum forming in an automated process. In the two-dimensional method, the article of wear comprises a generally flat shape with three-dimensional features molded into the first material layer.

The present disclosure pertains to a trim part for a motor vehicle that comprises: a carrier; and a decorative material applied onto an upper surface of the carrier, wherein the decorative material comprises a printed thermoplastic film; and wherein the trim part is shaped by a deep-drawing process and a grain or impression is produced on the visible side of the film, which faces away from the carrier, by the deep-drawing process. A method and a device for manufacturing the trim part is also proposed.

A method of manufacturing cross-corrugated support structures is provided. A mold having a molding surface with a first plurality and a second plurality of corrugations therein is used to introduce corrugations into a flexible, carbonaceous sheet. Cross-corrugations are introduced into the sheet by placing the sheet onto the molding surface, encapsulating the sheet to form a vacuum chamber, and evacuating the vacuum chamber of air. As air is evacuated from the vacuum chamber, the sheet is drawn upon the molding surface causing the sheet to conform to the shape of the molding surface. Thermosetting resin is infused into the sheet and cured causing the sheet to rigidly retain the shape of the molding surface. The sheet is further reinforced by securing at least one support member to the sheet using thermosetting resin.

Production process of a composite product (1) comprising a core (2), a first layer (3) comprising a sheet impregnated with a solid polyurethane material, and a polymer-based film (7) applied to the first layer (3), wherein the process comprises: producing a semi-finished product comprising the core (2) and the sheet impregnated by a liquid mixture precursor of the solid polyurethane material; adhering the film (7) to a first half-mould (11) by applying a depression between the film (7) and the half-mould (11); pressing two half-moulds (11, 12) against each other with the semi-finished product interposed between two shaping surfaces (13), so that the film (7) comes into contact with the liquid mixture; with the semi-finished product in the mould, thermosetting the liquid mixture to transform it into the polyurethane solid material so that the film (7) firmly adheres to the first layer (3) and thus producing the composite product (1).

A flexible inner socket is fabricated by forming a pre-socket. The pre-socket includes a body formed with an opening and an enclosed end. The enclosed end is opposite to the opening. The body of the pre-socket has an outer circumference that is smaller than the inner circumference of the rigid prosthetic socket. Different portions of the body may have different thicknesses. The preform socket is heated. After the heating, the flexible inner socket is formed by molding the pre-socket onto the inner surface of the rigid prosthetic socket to form the flexible inner socket. The inner circumference of the rigid prosthetic socket is reduced by a thickness of the flexible inner socket when the flexible inner socket is attached to the inner surface of the rigid prosthetic socket. An opening of the flexible inner socket may be trimmed after the formation to fit contours of an opening of the rigid prosthetic socket.

An additively manufactured node is disclosed. A node is an additively manufactured (AM) structure that includes a feature, e.g., a socket, a channel, etc., for accepting another structure, e.g., a tube, a panel, etc. The node can include a node surface of a receptacle extending into the node. The receptacle can receive a structure, and a seal interface on the node surface can seat a seal member between the node surface and the structure to create an adhesive region between the node and the structure, the adhesive region being bounded by the node surface, the structure, and the seal member. The node can also include two channels connecting an exterior surface of the node to the adhesive region. In this way, adhesive can be injected into the adhesive region between the node and the structure, and the adhesive can be contained by the seal member.